Inertial Sense Closes $2M Seed Round

Many people believe that in the next 100 years, a robot takeover will happen. I don't think it's too far-fetched and honestly, I wouldn't even mind it at this point. If robots are smart enough to take over humanity and subjugate our population, they would probably assign us sweet chores that fit our skillsets and maximize morale. I would probably be a manservant that dresses up in a metallic suit and mixes cocktails at robot dinner parties, two parts vodka, one part oil. What would you be?

For those who care about avoiding robot enslavement, it's important to monitor exact movement. They need to know if robots are meeting together in an abandoned mine, discussing plans for future domination and wondering why people are always talking about keto diets (even robots smart enough to enslave humanity would be unable to understand this). The easiest solution is to install tiny GPS chips inside robots that offer insight into their habits, deceitful or no.

With that in mind, maybe the robot takeover isn't imminent because Inertial Sense — makers of the world’s smallest and highest-performing GPS sensors — has closed a $2 million seed round led by DataTribe and participated in by Atomic Ventures.

“The world is starting to move on its own — robots, drone delivery, self-driving cars," said Brian Cahoon, CEO of Inertial Sense. "There’s a huge need for this type of technology, a really robust and smooth navigation position signal.”

In 2011, Walt Johnson began working on a low-cost micro navigation system for anything autonomous. The first product was sold in 2017 and marketed as the world's smallest yet cost-effective navigation sensor, used in a variety of ways: drones, robots, automobiles, aerial surveys, 3D motion tracking, and more.

With added seed money, Inertial Sense is planning to grow. Right now the employee count is five, working out of Salem, UT - Cahoon plans on doubling that shortly, while continuing to market the product.

“We’re excited to be here in Utah," said Cahoon. "All of our manufacturing is done here in Utah, we’re dedicated and committed to growing opportunities here.”

“We provide engineers with a turn-key solution to help solve the complex problem of autonomous vehicle navigation, at a size, accuracy and price point that the market has never seen before,” added Johnson.